Durham became part of the T20 folklore when they bowled Zimbabwean side Mashonaland Eagles for just 16 runs. The record took place in the final of Zimbabwe’s domestic T20 competition on Saturday. Durham had flown out to Zimbabwe to play in their domestic T20 competition. They participated in the tournament as a part of the countdown to the 2024 domestic season. They were utterly dominant in the group stages, winning five games in a row.
They faced Mashonaland Eagles in the final of the competition on Saturday. In one of the most one-side ties seen in T20 cricket’s history, Durham won the toss and elected to bat first. Opener Ollie Robinson got off to a flying start in the final, scoring 49 off 20 balls. Batting at number 3, Bas de Leede of the Netherlands provided solid support with 58 off 29 balls. Durham finished with an enormous score of 229-6 from their 20 overs. They were propelled past 200 by strong cameos from their lower middle order.
The side from Zimbabwe was at least expected to put up a fight against their stronger opponents, but what unfolded in the second inning was tough to believe.
Mashonaland Eagles kept losing wickets from the start and in no time, the score read 5/5. Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine, who was expected to put the most resistance, departed in the first over. Eagles kept losing wickets after that, and were bowled out for 16 runs in just over 8 overs. Durham won the tie by a whopping 213 runs.
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It was the greatest margin of victory in non-international T20 cricket matches as well as the third highest in T20 cricket history. It was only the fourth time in T20 cricket history that a team won a T20 match by more than 200 runs.